Global Cement News

Namibia: Ohorongo Cement – via the Ohorongo Otavi Community Trust – has donated US$59,800 to the Opuwo district hospital. Ohorongo Cement general manager Rudolf Coetzee sais, “This organisation supports various projects by means of financial and humanitarian means as well as through donation.”

US: FCT combustion has announced that it has won an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Titan Cement for the upgrade of its 5000t/d kiln line to 100% natural gas firing. The upgrade consists of the installation of two new burners: a dual-fuel capability Gyro-Therm Mk3 and a back-up natural gas-firing Gyro-Therm Mk3. The company has said that it will also supply accessories, field instruments, burner management system (BMS) and valve train.

Honduras: Colombia-based Grupo Argos energy subsidiary Celsia has announced that it has installed a 10.6MW solar power plant at Cementos Argos’ 1.0Mt/yr integrated Piedras Azules cement plant in Comayagua. Renewables Now News has reported that the 32,000-panel plant on the roof of the Piedras Azules plant will generate 20% of its operating power needs. Celsia says that the solar plant, its first in Honduras, will reduce Cementos Argos’ annual CO2 emissions by 10,000t/yr.

Azerbaijan: Akkord Cement has indicated that it plans to produce 1.6Mt of cement and clinker at its Gazakh plant in Dash Salahli in 2020. This would represent a 33% year-on-year increase from 1.2Mt in 2019. In 2019, Akkord Cement exported 500t of clinker from the plant to Georgia. Trend News has reported that the company intends to also export clinker to Iran in 2020.

UK: Parliament has voted to grant Her Majesty's Treasury powers to implement a UK emissions trading scheme (ETS) in line with the Climate Change Act (2008). Accountancy Daily News has reported that the ETS will be linked to the EU ETS ‘if such is suited to both sides’ interests,’ but, if not, will be subject to an alternative pricing mechanism. The Treasury said that “in a standalone UK ETS, additional market stability mechanisms can be implemented.”